Remarks by Minister Khaw Boon Wan for the Public Service Star (Distinguished Friends of Singapore) Investiture Ceremony

Mr Koji Sekimizu, Secretary-General Emeritus, International Maritime Organization

Mr Kenji Shinoda, Japanese Ambassador to Singapore

Friends & Colleagues

1.     We are gathered here this evening to honour Mr Koji Sekimizu.  He has many friends in Singapore and we have invited some of his closest friends here, to attend this investiture ceremony, to join in the celebration.

2.     Mr Sekimizu, in turn, is truly a Distinguished Friend of Singapore.

3.     Singapore’s friendship and partnership with Mr Sekimizu dated back many years, long before he became the IMO Secretary General in 2012.  Our MPA has worked very well with him.  We regularly bounced ideas off him, on how to strengthen relationship between Singapore and the IMO.  He always gave us good advice and practical suggestions.  As a result, we did and achieved many things together.

4.     Mr Andrew Tan has highlighted some of the achievements in the citation just now.  The Cooperative Mechanism which seeks to make the Straits of Malacca and Singapore safer, cleaner and open is of particular significance to Singapore.  Shipping is Singapore’s lifeline and the Straits of Malacca and Singapore is one of the most important waterways in the world.  Keeping it open has a direct impact on Singapore’s economy and the wellbeing of many Singaporeans.

5.     As we congratulate Mr Sekimizu on his Public Service Star, we also thank him for his contributions to Singapore and for his friendship.  Even in retirement, he continues to help us in MPA’s Academy and the Institute of South East Asia Studies.  His dedication and tireless efforts to raise the standards of safety, efficiency and environmental protection of the global maritime industry, is a great inspiration to us all.

6.     The Japanese has a proverb: “i no naka no taikai wo shirazu”: a frog in a well does not know the great ocean outside.  The Chinese have a similar proverb.  Mr Sekimizu is no frog in a well; he has left the well long ago, and went on to help make the ocean a safer place for all, and a better world.

7.     On behalf of the President of Republic of Singapore, it is my pleasure to present the Public Service Star (Distinguished Friends of Singapore) on Mr Koji Sekimizu.